Her Name
by chocolate365
Summary: Travis still doesn't know that beautiful redheaded girl's name, but he's determined to find out. So he has a little chat with our favorite hero. Short, nice oneshot. Set right after The Last Olympian. TxR. Please R&R.


"Travis?"

Conner peeked his head around a corner, looking for his brother. He stifled a laugh when he noticed his brother's awkward position.

"…Travis?"

"Shh!" Travis immediately pounced on his brother, shushing him. "She'll hear you! Quiet down!"

"Uh, why were you crouched behind the bush?" Conner asked, gesturing toward the bushy plant. It bloomed with pretty red flowers.

"I'm trying to see that girl. She hasn't been by the camp lately." Conner's eyebrows rose as he digested his brother's words. "A girl?"

"She's the one that came back on Percy's Pegasus, remember? She had some sort of meeting with Chiron. Remember seeing her up on Olympus? The red-haired mortal?" Travis continued to peek over the bush.

Conner placed her: she had bushy, frizzy red curls and a million freckles. Her eyes had been bright green. He remembered the most about her by the scribbles all over her jeans. They'd been everywhere. She was obviously an artist.

"What's her name?" he asked his brother, starting to get cramped from squatting. "Have you talked to her?"

Travis finally stopped straining to see her and slumped against the bush. "No, I've never spoken to her. I don't know her name."

"Ask Percy," Conner suggested, "or Annabeth."

"I can't." Travis covered his red face. "Percy won't understand…and Annabeth is Annabeth…"

"Dude, Percy liked her for what, three whole years before they got together?" Conner laughed. "You think he wouldn't understand that?"

"Look, I know it's stupid. I haven't even spoken to her. But…she's so pretty," Travis said wistfully, glancing at the Big House.

"Go for it, man," Conner told him. "You can do it."

Travis smiled sadly. "I don't know. I think I'll head down by the water."

"Right. Holler if you need anything, alright?"

Travis walked slowly along the shoreline. He was so engrossed in his thinking he didn't even notice Percy until he almost walked into him.

"Whoa! Oh, hey, Travis," Percy laughed. "Careful there. You seem to be lost in your own thoughts."

Travis smiled. Percy was a legend around camp, but people seemed to forget he was actually a pretty cool guy. He wasn't arrogant and selfish (Annabeth put any of that far behind) and he was really friendly. Travis had known him as the scared, small 12-year-old guy when he'd first come.

"Hey, Percy," he said, flopping down next to him. He noticed Percy's fishing pole. "Any biters?"

"Nothing worth keeping," Percy grinned, gesturing toward the serpent hooked on his line and barely containing laughter.

Travis chuckled, then sobered. The redheaded girl's face kept dancing through his mind. He couldn't help it. "Percy?"

"Yeah?" he was reeling in the cut line and examining his bait.

"I saw you had a friend, a mortal friend, with you and Annabeth during the battle." Travis's tone was casual, but he was sweating bullets.

"Oh, yeah. She's a good friend." Percy didn't look up from his project, frowning in concentration.

"The red-haired girl. Who was on Olympus," Travis pressed.

"Yeah, you met her, huh? What'd you think of her?"

"No, I didn't meet her…I was just wondering…what your relationship was with her, that's all."

Percy laughed. "Well, pretty much everyone knows about me and Annabeth. She was just…a great friend." Percy smiled, and it was obvious he was reliving memories.

"Care to share?" Travis asked eagerly.

"One time, I was about to get my head hacked off by Kronos, right? In the Labyrinth, and it was slow-mo everything and I couldn't move," Percy explained. "Then what do you know? She pops in, and throws a blue plastic hairbrush right at the Lord of Time." He roared with laughter. "She hit him right in the eye."

Travis started to laugh. He could picture her doing that.

"And another time, when I first met her, she blew her nose behind me, and I thought she was these skeletons chasing me. So I swung Riptide at her, and she yelped and dropped her tissue." Percy was chuckling. "Of course, it went right through her because she was mortal. But she could see it."

"She had true vision?" Travis asked in wonderment. She was truly something special, he thought.

"Yeah. Man, she was annoying, though. She fired a million questions at me, but later saved my life by ducking in a bathroom." Percy grinned, and his green eyes were far off, remembering days long ago.

"I can't believe she had the true sight, though. That's awesome." Travis was smiling. She sounded beautiful, brave, and amazing. He loved her and he hadn't even met her yet.

"Yeah, well, of course she had the calling. That's why she was born with the true sight." Percy idly re-baited his hook.

Travis's heart pumped, and he looked at him. "The calling?"

"Yeah, she's the Oracle now," Percy explained, throwing his line back out. "That's why she had true sight. She was supposed to be the next Oracle."

Travis felt his throat constricting, and his eyes felt plugged. He felt like he'd been vacuumed with a whole ton of crap. "So…I guess that must be hard for her…not being able to…date anybody."

"She's gotten used to it," Percy waved a hand off. "Don't tell anyone, but Annabeth got pretty happy when she couldn't date anymore." Percy winked. "They're friends now."

"Right," Travis said, feeling around the lump in his throat. His eyes burned and he couldn't breathe. He had to get out of there.

Travis stood up. His legs felt like spaghetti. "Well, thanks for the chat, Percy. I…I'd better go."

Percy turned to give him a smile. "Anytime. I haven't seen much of you guys lately." He laughed. "The Poseidon cabin's always open."

"Okay," Travis said, his own voice sounding distant. "Whatever."

He started to walk off, then suddenly whirled around. "Percy?"

"Mm-hmm?"

"What's her name?"

"Huh?"

"What's that redheaded girl's name?"

Percy looked surprised. "Why, it's Rachel. Rachel Elizabeth Dare."

"Oh," Travis said in a small voice. "Thanks."

He turned and walked away, leaving a slightly confused Percy and a heart full of longing and what-ifs on the beach.

_Rachel. _


End file.
